Skip to Main Content

Community Service

There are many ways to get involved with service at Miami, whether that be joining a service organization or connecting with community partners. The Wilks Institute can help answer any questions you may have about finding opportunities, tracking your service hours, or designing your own service project.

Our service ambassadors are here to help with all of your service needs, including hosting monthly service events right here on campus. If you have any questions, please reach out to WilksInstitute@MiamiOH.edu. 

ComMUnity Connect for Organizations

The ComMUnity Connect platform offers students and community members the opportunity to track their service hours and connect with others in a common group (chapter, club, etc). Students can find service opportunities on campus, in Oxford, and around Butler County. All Miami students already have an account and can log in with their UniqueID.

If you would like to start a user group for your organization, please reach out to WilksInstitute@MiamiOH.edu or fill out the User Group Request Form.

FAQ: Nonprofits and Community Agencies

Features and Benefits of ComMUnity Connect

  • Create an agency profile page viewable to students, faculty, and staff at Miami University and the community at large.
  • Share links to your social media platforms, listservs, websites, and photo albums.
  • List all of your agency’s volunteer opportunities and needs in one place.
  • Recruit volunteers for both one-time and recurring service opportunities. 
  • Recruit volunteers for an ongoing or recurring need.
  • Track and verify volunteer hours in one place.
  • Print and view agency volunteer reports on an ongoing basis.
  • Promote your agency, its projects, and events to the entire campus community.
  • Connect with individual students, student organizations, faculty, and staff based on their interests.

How to submit service hours on ComMUnity Connect

  1. Log in to ComMUnity Connect
  2. In the top right corner of your screen, select ‘Add Hours”
  3. Select the opportunity, if applicable
  4. If your hours are not in connection with a posted opportunity, fill out contact fields for who can verify your hours (typically a volunteer coordinator or organization leader)
  5. Add the date you completed service
  6. Add the number of hours you completed
  7. Select user group(s) you would like associated with your hour submission
  8. Add your description. Please include all important information about what you did during your service project. If your description includes acronyms, please write them out in order for our team to easily understand what you have completed.

Volunteer Hours and Criteria for Approval

In order to ensure students are selecting meaningful community engagement opportunities and forming mutually beneficial relationships with our community partners, The Wilks Institute for Leadership and Service has created the following guidelines for the approval of volunteer hours. We recognize there may be situations where it is difficult to determine whether an activity meets the requirements to be classified as volunteering, and we encourage students to email their student organization, chapter’s service chair, or the Wilks Institute with any questions or concerns regarding the criteria.

Please Note: In order to ensure your volunteer hours count towards your student
organization or chapter you MUST:

  • Request a link from your organization’s leadership or the Wilks Institute to join the Community Connect “User Group” associated with your student org or chapter.
  • Join the specified user group via Community Connect.
  • Select the user group each time you submit hours through the site.

FAQ

General Approval Requirements

  1. All volunteer hours must be submitted for approval on Miami’s volunteer website ComMUnity Connect. Every Miami student can log in with their UniqueID.
  2. Students can not count time spent on activities for which they, or their organization, receive financial compensation or academic credit (i.e. a job, a fundraiser for a student organization, a class project, or a course credit). A free meal, a t-shirt, or a place to stay does not count as compensation.
  3. Service hours must be completed through a non-profit (501c3), government agency, or school. Hours completed at senior and retirement centers both for-profit and non-profit will count.
    1. Volunteering alongside a faith based organization will be counted if you are impacting the greater community outside of your faith or worship community.
    2. Participating in events for your place of worship or events that target only people of a certain religion or belief system (proselytizing/preaching, youth group or religious teaching, holiday celebrations, and/or creating materials for religious events and practices) will not be counted.
    3. Activities completed for a family member will not be counted.
  4. Volunteer hours will only be counted for activities that are extra-curricular, meaning activities are pursued in addition to your normal course of study and aren’t required as part of your degree. Some examples of what will not be counted as volunteer hours include:
    1. Time spent shadowing without performing a task
    2. Hours spent on student-teaching
    3. Activities for which you are compensated through course credit, a grade, or money
  5. Civic involvement will generally count as volunteer hours as long as it is encouraging civic engagement for a non-partisan social issue. Some examples of what will not be counted as volunteer hours include:
    1. Campaigning for a political party
    2. Campaigning for a specific candidate
  6. Hour capacities: Some organizations (like Greek life) have hour caps each semester for certain submissions. These caps are: one hour for blood drives, one hour for card making, and two hours for donation drives.

Common Submissions

  • Blood drives: You can receive one hour for donating whole blood. You can receive two hours for donating red blood cells. Attempting to give blood but being unable to does not count as volunteer hours.
  • Card making: You can receive one hour for 10 cards. This includes cards for nursing homes, hospital patients, Ronald McDonald house, and other organizations.
  • Donation drives: You can receive one hour for donating five food items, five material items, or three clothing items. This includes donations to all drives led by chapters and outside organizations.
  • Donations: Donating money to an organization does not count as volunteer hours. This includes donating through a GoFundMe link, giving money through a bingo board on social media, or donating to a different organization’s fundraiser.
  • Leadership positions: Holding a leadership position in a student organization does not count as volunteer hours. Some examples include leading meetings, creating flyers, or time spent marketing.
  • Participating in events: Solely participating in a philanthropy event does not count as volunteer hours. Examples of this include running/walking in a 5k (even if there is an entry free - this would count as a donation, not volunteer hours), attending a breakfast/lunch, or eating at a restaurant fundraiser (ex. Chipotle, Skipper’s).
  • Plasma donations: Plasma donations do not count as volunteer hours if you receive compensation for your time.
  • Promoting events: Promoting a philanthropy event for your own organization, or another chapter, does not count as volunteer hours. Examples include posting a graphic on social media, passing out flyers, and tabling. Creating visuals for a non-profit will count as volunteer hours.
  • Tutoring: If you receive compensation, tutoring others does not count as volunteer hours. Informally tutoring other Miami students does not count as volunteer hours. If you volunteer to tutor others through a third party organization, or tutor young children at a school, these activities will count as volunteer hours.
  • Undergraduate research: Participating in undergraduate research does not count as volunteer hours if you receive pay or course credit for doing so.

Ways to Partner

One-Time Service Projects

One-time service projects are opportunities to serve that do not require an ongoing commitment and typically require little to no training. One-time service projects are often great for large groups but can be for individuals as well. Examples of One-time service projects are: painting a room or building, trash and litter control, preparing cards or crafts for hospital patients, sorting and organizing donations, helping with a special event, etc.

To recruit volunteers for a one-time service project, complete our Opportunity Request form or email WilksInstitute@MiamiOH.edu.

Ongoing Service Projects

Ongoing service projects require an ongoing commitment from volunteers. This could be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Ongoing service projects usually require training and, depending on the population you serve, may require a background check. Examples of ongoing service projects are: serving as shopping assistants in a choice pantry, assisting with client intake, providing childcare, tutoring adults in GED classes, etc.

To recruit volunteers for an ongoing service project, visit our ComMUnity Connect site or email WilksInstitute@MiamiOH.edu.

chat bubbles icon

Present a Workshop

Miami students are here to learn both inside and outside of the classroom. We regularly host leadership, service, civic engagement, and personal development workshops. These are opportunities for those interested to plan a talk or presentation for a classroom size audience. If you would like to come tell the students about your projects or initiatives, this might be a great fit. You may also want to host a talk about something you are knowledgeable and passionate about. If you would like to plan something like this, please email WilksInstitute@MiamiOH.edu. Our Ambassadors can work with you to plan and promote your workshop.

Harry T. Wilks Institute for Leadership and Service

Suites 2026 and 2029 Armstrong Student Center
550 E. Spring Street
Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-0830 513-529-3445(fax)
Living on Campus Student Wellness Involvement and Recreation Safety and Security Personal Development